Wind expected to be a factor in Buffalo on Sunday

If you played Sunday’s Jets-Bills game in perfect conditions, there probably wouldn’t be gaudy passing numbers when the final whistle blew.

The Bills are playing without wide receivers Stevie Johnson and Robert Woods and they haven’t been piling up yards and points when they’re healthy. The Jets, meanwhile, are coming off a game that saw Geno Smith complete just eight passes in what was a successful offensive game plan in a victory over the Saints. Take those things together and it looks like a day for the running backs.

When you throw in the weather report, it is even more likely that we’ll be watching an earthbound game on Sunday. Forecasts are for sustained winds of 25 miles per hour during the game with gusts up to 45 mph on a day where weather is expected to be a factor in several games. Bills coach Doug Marrone is concerned with the potential impact on the kicking game as well.

“The thing I get most concerned about is Brian [Moorman], holding that ball [on his punt drops],” Marrone said, via the team’s website. “He cradles the ball and when you do that and the ball drops and the wind is going, for him to kick it, the tip of that ball starts to move. That’s the one concern I have.”

Jets kicker Nick Folk has yet to miss a field goal this season, but he could also be affected by the winds blowing through Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.